NBA announced the creation of Jr. NBA World Championship, a youth global basketball tournament

The Jr. NBA World Championship is a first-of-its-kind global youth basketball tournament for the top 14U teams from around the world. The tournament will feature boys and girls divisions, each comprised of 16 regional champions (eight U.S. teams and eight international teams) that will compete in the inaugural championship in August 2018 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World® Resort near Orlando.

Eight regional tournaments will be held across the U.S. in 2018, with the winning boys and girls teams from each region advancing to the Jr. NBA World Championship. The international competition will leverage the existing global reach of the Jr. NBA, currently reaching 26M youth in more than 70 countries. Eight boys teams and eight girls teams will represent the international regions above at the Jr. NBA World Championship.

"The Jr. NBA World Championship represents another significant step in our effort to promote youth basketball globally. And in addition to high-level competition on the court, participants will learn from NBA and WNBA veterans and coaches the values of the game and the most appropriate training techniques." Adam Silver said in a statement.